Tory-Labour 'grand coalition' could happen – Lib Dem minister

British Prime Minister David Cameron (R) and leader of the opposition Labour Party Ed Miliband (L) (AFP Photo) / AFP

A “grand coalition” of the Labour and Conservative parties could be formed after the general election in May if neither party is able to secure a majority, Business Secretary Vince Cable has claimed.

The Liberal Democrat
minister said his party had to prepare for the UK’s two major
political parties forming a government together.

Cable said the Lib Dems should be prepared to lose power after
the election, claiming it was necessary to consider every
possibility.

Speaking to guests after recording last week’s BBC Question Time,
Cable said: “We may have to prepare ourselves for the
possibility that we won't be in the coalition at all, that there
will be a grand coalition between Labour and the Tories
instead.”

When asked if this was his prediction, he said: “It's one of
the possibilities we should be preparing for.”

“It's not something I'm advocating, as it would put me out of
a job. But we need to consider all of the possibilities,” he
said.

Cable isn’t alone in his speculation. A former speechwriter to
the prime minister has argued that the two parties have more in
common with each other than they do with “insurgent”
parties such as UKIP.

“A government of national unity between Labour and the
Conservatives may sound far-fetched, especially amid the froth
and fury of a nascent election campaign,” Ian Birrell wrote
in the Guardian last week.

“Yet, while there are serious disagreements, the two parties
have more in common with each other than with the insurgents on
many key issues – especially if David Cameron survived and
Miliband was replaced by someone such as [Shadow Business
Secretary] Chuka Umunna,” he said.

Birrell suggested the two parties may actually complement each
other.

“Labour remains marginally ahead but is distrusted on
economic matters and held back by a leader who commands little
confidence.”

“The Tories have the most trusted leader, even on the sacred
health service, yet voters think they care only for the rich, and
remain wary of their stewardship of public services.”

Is it possible that together they could command the trust of the
British public?

Labour's support for the Govt's Charter for Budget
Responsibility is the "start of overtures" towards a grand
coalition, says @mowat4ws

Writing in the Spectator in October, journalist Mary Dejevsky
said: “A Conservative-Labour coalition might seem to go
completely against the grain of Britain’s adversarial politics.
But it has been observed time and again in recent months that
Cameron, Miliband (and Clegg) have a significant amount of
political ground in common.”

“Center-left and center-right are not so very far
apart,” she added.

While rare in the UK, power-sharing agreements involving major
parties are more common in Germany, where they are called
“grand coalitions.”

Merkel has led three grand coalitions since first becoming
chancellor in 2005.

Con-Lab "Grand Coalition"?Dutch one started in 2012: big 2
pties have lost more than half of their support since, PVV(NL's
UKIP) leads polls